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Environmental impact assessment

(EIA)
Initial Environmental Examination
(IEE)
Engr Kareem Bakhsh

The Environment of Human Being

Includes:

Abiotic Factors:Land, water, atmosphere, climate, sound, odours and

taste.
Biotic Factors:Fauna (animal life of a region or geological period) Flora
(the plants of a particular region or geological period)
Ecology, bacteria and viruses; and all those social
factors which make up the quality of life.

How the Word Environment Emerged:

The word environment emerged in

response to the public health:

1.

In sanitary (dirty or germ carrying) dwellings and

streets.
Contaminated public water supplies.
Drain and sanitation.
Public nuisances.
Unhygienic food processing.

2.
3.
4.
5.

6.
7.
8.

Overcrowding.
Refuse dump.
Epidemics (wide spread of diseases)

Environmental impact assessment is

the formal process used to predict
the environmental consequences
(positive or negative) of a plan, policy,
program, or project prior to the decision to
move forward with the proposed action.
It is the evaluation of the environmental
impacts likely to raise from a major project
significantly affecting the environment.

It

is an important assessment as it allows

the companies to rethink about their
business set up and strategies before going
ahead with them.
A team of environmental specialists
work ,who have the caliber and experience
to correctly gauge the negative or positive
impact of the clients project.

Most definitions recognize the

following four basic principles
1.

Procedural principle; EIA establishes a

systematic method for incorporating
environmental
considerations into
decision-making;

2.

Informational principle; EIA provides the

necessary
elements to make an
informed decision;
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3. Preventive principle; EIA should be applied at

the earliest opportunity within the decisionmaking process to allow the anticipation and
avoidance of environmental impacts wherever
possible; and
4. Iterative principle; the information generated by
EIA is made available to interested parties to
elicit
a response which in turn should be fed
back into EIA process.
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SD
Involving the use of natural
products/energy in such a way that it does
not harm to the environment.
Adopting 3Rs.

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It prevents behind closed door decision

making.

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Guiding principles of
Environmental Impact
Assessment

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The EIA Process:

EIA may be presented as a series of stages.

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Screening/Initial Environmental Examination (IEE):

The process of an EIA commences at the early stages of
a project. When the project is first considered, not when
construction has begun.
Once a developer has identified a need, assessed
project design and site; the next step is to see the
positive and negative effects of this development on the
environment. The outcome of the screening process is a
decision to either include or exclude the development
from the full EIA Process.

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Steps to be considered during scoping:

Develop a communication plan (decide who to talk to and

when).

Assemble information that will be the starting point of

discussion.

Make the information available to those whose views are

to be obtained.

Find out what issues people are concerned about.

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Look at the issues from a technical or scientific

perspective in preparation for further study.

Organize information according to issues including

grouping and setting priorities.

Develop a strategy for addressing and resolving each

key issue, including information requirements and terms
of reference for further studies.

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EIA report normally include the following

information:

The impact the project would have on the physical environment.

Any possible pollution of the soil, of waters of all kinds such as

surface, underground, costal and of the atmosphere.

The impact of the project on wildlife, the natural habitat and all
other ecological factors.

The projects likely influence on the qualities of life of the local

populations.

Any influence the project may have on existing industry and

employment.

Any need that may result for new or improved infrastructure

such as utilities, transport, housing, school recreational
amenities etc.
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Once the EIA is completed and the EIA report is submitted to

the competent authority, it has to be ensured that the EIA has
been conducted properly, that all of the necessary analysis have
been undertaken and are contained in the final report. It is
necessary to develop review criteria to check the accuracy and
comprehensiveness of the EIA Report.
The review can be carried out by decision maker or by review
committee, however effective review criteria should allow an
authority to:

Ensure that all relevant information has been analysed and

presented.
Assess the validity and accuracy of information contained in EIA
Report.
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Once the study is finished and EIA report is submitted,

the responsible decision-makers start what is often the
difficult task of balancing environmental, economic,
political and technical factors in reaching a final decision
regarding the course of action to be taken.

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Pakistan Environmental Protection Act

(PEPA), 1997

Section 12 of PEPA, 1997.

Initial Environmental Examination and
Environmental Impact Assessment-(1) No proponent
of a project shall commence construction or operation
unless he has filed with the Federal Agency an initial
environmental examination or, where the project is likely
to cause an adverse environmental effect, an
environmental impact assessment and has obtained
from the Federal Agency approval in respect thereof;

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SCHEDULE I
LIST OF PROJECTS
REQUIRING AN IEE

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(A)
Agriculture, Livestock and
Fisheries, etc.
1) Poultry, livestock, stud and fish farms with

total cost of more than 10 million rupees.

2) Projects involving repacking, formulation
or warehousing of agriculture products.
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(B)
Energy
Hydroelectric Power generation less than 50 MW.
Thermal Power generation less than 200 MV.
Transmission Lines less than 11KV, and large distribution
projects.
Oil and Gas transmission system.
Oil and Gas extraction projects including exploration,
production, gathering system, separation and storage.
Waste-to-energy generation projects.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

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Manufacturing & Processing.

1.
2.

3.
4.
5.

Ceramics and glass units with total cost of more than 50

million rupees.
Food Processing industries including sugar mills,
beverages, milk and diary products, with total cost of less
than 100 million rupees.
Man made fibers and resin projects with total cost less
than 100 million rupees.
Manufacturing of apparel including dying and printing, with
total cost of more than 25 million rupees.
Wood products with total cost of more than 25 million
rupees.
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(D)
Mining & Mineral Processing
1. Commercial

extraction of sand gravel,

limestone, clay, sulphur and other minerals
not included in Schedule II with cost of less
than 100 million rupees.
2. Crushing, grinding and separation processes.
3. Smelting plants with total cost of 50 million
rupees.
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(E)
Transport
1. Federal

or provincial highways (except

maintenance, rehabilitation or reconstruction
of existing mettaled roads) with total cost of
less than 50 million rupees.
2. Ports and harbour development for ships less
than 500 gross tons.
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(F)
Water Management, Dams, Irrigation
and Flood Protection.
1.

2.
3.

Dams and reservoirs with storage volume less than 50

million cubic meters or surface area less than 08
square kilometers.
Irrigation and drainage projects serving less than
15,000 hectares.
Small scale irrigation system with total cost less than
50 million rupees.
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(G)
Water Supply and
Treatment.
1. Water

supply schemes and treatment plants

with total cost of less than Rs. 25 million
rupees.

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(H)
Waste Disposal
1. Waste

disposal facility for domestic or

industrial wastes, with annual capacity less
than 10,000 cubic meters.

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(I)
Urban Development and
Tourism.
1. Housing

schemes.
2. Public facilities with significant off-site impacts
e.g, hospital wastes.
3. Urban development projects.
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(J)
Other Projects.
Any other project for which filing of an IEE is
required by the Federal Agency under subregulation (2) of regulation.

1.

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SCHEDULE II

LIST OF PROJECTS
REQUIRING AN EIA

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(A)
Energy
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

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Hydroelectric power generation over 50 MW.

Thermal power generation over 200 MW.
Transmission lines (11 KV and above) and
grid stations.
Nuclear Power plants.
Petroleum refineries.

(B)
Manufacturing and Processing
Cement Plants.
Chemicals projects.
Fertilizers plants.
Food processing industries including sugar
mills, beverages, milk and dairy products with
total cost of Rs. 100 Million and above.
Industrial Estates (including export
processing zones)

1.
2.
3.
4.

5.
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6. Man-made fibers and resin projects with total cost of

Rs. 100 Million and above.
7. Pesticides (manufacture or formulation).
8. Petrochemicals complex.
9. Synthetic resins, plastic and man-made fibers, paper
and paperboard, paper pulping, plastic products,
textile (except apparel), printing and publishing,
paints and dyes, oils and fats and vegetable ghee
projects with a total cost more than Rs. 10 Million.
10. Tanning and lather finishing projects.
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(C)
Mining and Mineral
Processing.
1.

Mining and processing of coal, gold, copper,

sulphur and precious stones.
2.
Mining and processing of major non-ferrous
metals, iron and steel rolling.
3.
Smelting plants with total cost of Rs. 50 Million
and above.
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(D)
Transport
1.
2.

3.
4.
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Airports.
Federal or provincial highways (except
maintenance, rebuilding or reconstruction of
existing roads) with total cost of Rs.50 million and
above.
Ports and harbors development for ships 500 gross
tons and above.
Railway works.

(E)
Water Management, Dams,
Irrigation and Flood Protection.
Dams and reservoirs with storage volume 50
million cubic meters and above or surface
area of 08 square kilometers and above.
Irrigation and drainage projects serving
15,000 hectares and above.

1.

2.

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(F)
Water supply schemes and
treatment.
1.

Water supply schemes and treatment plants

with total cost of Rs. 25 million and above.

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(G)
Waste Disposal
1. Waste disposal and / or storage of
hazardous or toxic wastes (including land
fill sites incineration of hospital toxic
waste).
2. Waste disposal facility for domestic or
industrial waste with annual capacity
more
than 10,000 cubic meters.
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(H)
Urban development and
tourism.
1. Land

use studies and urban plans (large

cities).
2. Large scale tourism development projects
with total cost more than Rs. 50 million.
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(I)
Environmentally Sensitive Areas.

1. All projects situated in environmentally

sensitive areas.

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Benefits of EIA

Industrial development
Effective use of resources
Sustainable development.

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environmentally sound and sustainable design

better compliance with standards
savings in capital and operating costs
reduced time and costs for approvals
increased project acceptance
better protection of the environment and
human health

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